Androcles

According to legend, Androcles was a Roman slave who lived in Africa in
the first century
A
.
D
. After escaping from his cruel master, Androcles hid in a cave. While
there, a lion with a thorn stuck in its paw entered the cave. The lion
showed its swollen paw to Androcles, who carefully removed the thorn and
befriended the animal.

Some years later, Androcles was captured and thrown into an arena to be
killed by lions. One of the lions, however, was the same animal that
Androcles had helped in the cave. The lion recognized Androcles and
refused to hurt him. The animal even protected Androcles from the other
wild beasts. When the spectators in the arena saw what was happening, they
demanded that Androcles be set free.

The legend of Androcles appeared in
Noctes Atticae
(Attic Nights), a story by Roman author Aulus Gellius written around
A
.
D
. 150. Much later, the legend became the inspiration for the play
Androcles and the Lion,
written by Irish author George Bernard Shaw in 1912.